Golf Terminologies

June 11, 2018

Are you a beginner in playing golf? Do you ever get wonder or perhaps confuse what each one of those golf terms mean? What's a Bogey? Or much does a free drop cost? What is all this talk about the back side? Who's caddie? Being a newbie to anything is difficult. Adapting and learning all there can be overwhelming

Loving golf is embracing whatever accompanies it. Understanding the fundamental golf terms is vital regardless of whether you are just simply playing golf for fun. You will get greater happiness from the game if you understand the vocabulary used by golfers.

So, breeze through the terminologies that commonly used in golf so you have a good grasp of the basic language involved in the game.. Or visit Common Golf terms for more information.

Ace

A hole in one. It is when a player hits the ball into the hole in one single stroke.

Air Shot

A shot where the player addresses the balls, swings, and completely misses the golf-ball. An air shot is counted as a stroke.

Albatross

A term used described as the three strokes under par on a sole hole, is tremendously hard to achieve. The probabilities of achieving albatross are set at 6 million to 1. To make an albatross you must: Score a 1 (hole-in-one) on a par-4 hole Score 2 on a par-5 Score 3 on a par-6.

Approach

The shot a player takes from the fairway to the green.

Apron

A short grass that isolates the green from rough or fairway

All square

Term used in scoring when tied in match play to point out that the match is even at present (abbreviated “AS” on scoreboard)

Away

The player farthest away typically hits first. The ball that's farthest away from the hole, as in "you're away."

Axis

In general refers to a straight line (the spine) that the upper body rotates round in the course of the golf swing.

Back tees

The farthest set of tees from the hole on each hole also referred to as "the tips."

Ball marker

A coin-sized object, typically round, used to mark the position of a player's ball on the green.

Ball mark

A small space on the surface of a green resulting from the impact of a golf ball

Ballooning

Extreme climbing or lifting of a shot further than its normal direction, usually into the wind and frequently causing the shot to fall short of the aiming distance

Term used that is intended to hold a players golf bag while they are practicing on the driving range.

Golf bags comes with various style and colour at golfgearsdirect.com.au suitable to any player preferences and convenience.

Beach

Slang term for a sand bunker.

Better Ball/ Best ball

Best score on a hole by partners in a best-ball match.

Birdie

A player who sinks the ball in the cup single stroke under par for that hole. For instance, if a player takes four strokes to position the ball in the cup on a par five, he or she gets a birdie.

Bite

A ball with lots of backspin is said to "bite," since it remains pretty close to where it landed or even spins reverse toward the player.

Bladed Shot

Frequently referred to as a "skulled" shot, it happens when the top half of the ball is struck with the bottom portion of an iron, which results a low-running shot.

Bogey

A score of one over par. When the quantity of strokes it takes to go down the ball in a hole exceeds the par by one.

Bye

A quick game played over the remaining holes after the primary match wraps up early because one player or team has won by a huge margin. It serves the combined reason of adding some of competitive meaning to the rest of the holes and as well for the losing side to challenge to recover some of the pride lost as a result of their embarrassment in the main competition.

Bunker

A concave area containing sand or the like, considered a hazard.

Bounce

Describes a point where the rear boundary of the sole is lower than the front edge, keeping them from digging too deep in sand or being stopped by tall grass.

Chicken Wing

A swing flaw in which the lead elbow bends at an angle pointed away from the body, mostly resulting in a blocked or pushed shot

Slice

Starter

Scorecard

card; the card used to record and tally scores during and after a round of golf

Stroke play

A golf format in which the objective is to finish the game using the fewest total shots.

Snowman

A darkly humorous reference to scoring an 8 on a hole.

Sweet spot

The centre of the clubface, which will produce the longest shot from a given club

Tap-in

A very short putt.

Tee box

The area on a golf hole where the ball is first struck, also known as the "teeing ground." Although you hear "tee box" a lot, "teeing ground" or "tee" are the preferred terms.

Tees

A small (usually, but not always, wooden) device for setting the ball up above the ground

Takeaway

The movement of the club at the start of the backswing.

The turn

The halfway point in a round of golf.

Three-Quarter Shot

A shot played with a shortened backswing and lessened arm speed

Transition

The change of direction in the swing, from the backswing to the forward swing. (It's very important to make a smooth transition in your swing).

Up and down

Chipping or pitching the ball onto the green and putting it into the hole on the very next shot.

Unplayable Lie

When it is impossible to play a shot because of ground conditions

Waggle

A movement for the purpose of staying loose, feeling the club, keeps the body in motion instead of holding still.

Whiff

To swing and miss the ball completely.

Wrong Ball

Any ball other than the player’s ball in play, provisional ball or second ball played under Rule 3-3 or Rule 20-7b in stroke play

Woods

A type of golf club with a round head, usually made out of wood, metal or composite materials. The most common woods include the Driver, 3-wood and 5-wood.

Worm burner

A golf shot (not a putt) in which the ball never rises off the ground.

Yank

A shot that goes severely to the left of the target line

Yips

The inability to make short putts due to nervousness and lack of a smooth putting stroke.

Zinger

A ball hit high and hard

Zone

When you're playing well, you're said to be "in the zone."

FACT:

People are under the similar misinterpretation that GOLF meant for “Gentleman Only, Ladies Forbidden”. Despite the fact that this is a logical theory as history shows much of the sport being reserved designed for male players, while women were on the odd occasion identified to hold a club. Some long-established golf clubs to this day still impose a gender restriction, which enforces the acronym falsehood even more. On the other hand, with a widely less controversial origin, GOLF in point of fact stems from an Old Dutch or Scottish language.

At this point, you've probably felt overwhelmed the sheer amount of golf jargon and are sick of those dreary definitions. I hope you have found this essential Golf Terms significant and informative.

Please bear in mind that Golf Terms are a fundamental link to understanding and appreciating the GAME.